Man arrested for rape of severely disabled woman in Penryn

Thanks to a relative’s DNA sample and more than a month of searching, Placer County Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested a suspect Wednesday night in the alleged rape of a severely disabled woman at a Penryn care facility.

Marquise Xavier Montgomery, 22, who worked at the Penryn facility last year, was apprehended in Elverta for the alleged rape of a person unable to give consent, according to a press release issued by the sheriff’s office Thursday afternoon.

In November of last year detectives were first notified by the care home that the woman was pregnant. Law enforcement would not reveal the name of the facility, or confirm the woman was pregnant at that time according to earlier reporting by the Journal.

The Penryn intermediate care facility being investigated is managed by ResCare, Inc. according to earlier reporting. Jackie Smith, Regional Director for ResCare Residential West told the Journal then that the company was cooperating with the investigation.

“We did become aware of a situation that led us to contact the Placer County Sheriff’s Office. We have and are fully cooperating with their department in an ongoing investigation,” Smith said in an interview in 2011.

Montgomery was identified as a person of interest early in the investigation, but detectives were unable to locate him. Other male employees at the care facility volunteered to give DNA samples and were all cleared of any involvement.

Eventually, investigators were able to get a DNA sample from a relative of Montgomery, which was tested and as a result, enabled detectives to obtain a warrant for Montgomery’s arrest. Once the warrant was received, detectives actively sought him for more than a month.

As of Thursday afternoon Montgomery was being held at Placer County Jail with bail set at $150,000. He is scheduled to appear in court Friday morning.

The sheriff’s office could not comment on the current condition of the woman or her pregnancy.

Similar cases have happened before in PlacerCounty, but not often, Lt. Mark Reed of the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said in an interview with the Journal in 2011. “We had cases similar to this. It’s been quite awhile,” Reed told the Journal. “I would say it’s rare, but they do happen.”